Role of site-directed mutagenesis and adjuvants in the stability and potency of anthrax protective antigen

Anthrax is a zoonotic infection caused by the gram-positive, aerobic, spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Depending on the origin of the infection, serious health problems or mortality is possible. The virulence of B. anthracis is reliant on three pathogenic factors, which are secreted upon infection: protective antigen (PA), lethal factor (LF), and edema factor (EF). Systemic illness results from LF and EF entering cells through the formation of a complex with the heptameric form of PA, bound to the membrane of infected cells through its receptor. The currently available anthrax vaccines have multiple drawbacks, and recombinant PA is considered a promising second-generation vaccine candidate. However, the inherent chemical instability of PA through Asn deamidation at multiple sites prevents its use after long-term storage owing to loss of potency. Moreover, there is a distinct possibility of B. anthracis being used as a bioweapon; thus, the developed vaccine should remain efficacious and stable over the long-term. Second-generation anthrax vaccines with appropriate adjuvant formulations for enhanced immunogenicity and safety are desired. In this article, using protein engineering approaches, we have reviewed the stabilization of anthrax vaccine candidates that are currently licensed or under preclinical and clinical trials. We have also proposed a formulation to enhance recombinant PA vaccine potency via adjuvant formulation.     

慢性高原病脑部多体素1H-MRS研究

目的利用多体素氢质子磁共振波谱成像(hydrogen proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy,¹H-MRS)探讨慢性高原病(chronic mountain sickness,CMS)长期缺氧状态下脑部代谢物的特点,并比较各代谢物与血液指标之间的相关性。材料与方法前瞻性纳入青海大学附属医院经临床确诊为CMS的17例男性患者作为实验组,年龄(53.29±9.03)岁,居住海拔(3989.12±937.45)m,血红蛋白(hemoglobin,HGB)(224.35±11.81)g/mL,并招募与实验组年龄及居住海拔相匹配的18名健康男性志愿者作为对照组,年龄(48.61±8.76)岁,居住海拔(3674.94±634.27)m,HGB(156.67±9.46)g/mL。采用Siemens Prisma 3.0 T MR扫描仪20通道头颅线圈对所有受试者行常规头颅MRI及多体素;H-MRS检查,通过Syngo.via后处理软件获得;H-MRS图,ROI选取双侧额叶及海马区,并获得相应脑区N-乙酰天门冬氨酸/肌酸(NAA/Cr)、胆碱/肌酸CHo/Cr、乙酰天门冬氨酸/胆碱(NAA/CHo)、乳酸/肌酸(Lac/Cr)的比值。结合独立样本t检验及非参数曼-惠特尼U检验以比较两组间代谢物相对浓度差异,然后将CMS组双侧额叶及海马区各代谢物比值与血液生化指标作相关性分析。结果(1)两组受试者年龄、长期居住海拔差异均无统计学意义(P>0.05),而与对照组相比,CMS组HGB、红细胞计数(red blood cell count,RBC)、血细胞比容(hematocrit,HCT)增高,血小板(blood platelet,简称PLT)减低,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.01);(2)与对照组相比,CMS组双侧额叶及海马区NAA/Cr及NAA/CHo均减低(P<0.05),Lac/Cr增高(P<0.05),差异均具有统计学意义;(3)与对照组相比,CMS组双侧额叶及双侧海马区CHo/Cr均增高(P>0.05),差异无统计学意义;(4)CMS组右侧额叶及左侧海马CHo/Cr与RBC明显正相关,左侧额叶CHo/Cr与HCT低度正相关,右侧额叶及左侧海马Lac/Cr与HCT低度正相关。结论CMS长期缺氧状态下脑组织局部代谢物改变,神经元受损,无氧代谢增加,且这些代谢物的改变与血液指标呈一定的相关性,可为临床后续进一步预防或干预CMS患者脑损害提供影像学证据及监测指标。     

In silico repurposing the Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 for treating PTTG1-high expressing clear cell renal carcinoma

The pituitary tumor-transforming gene 1 (PTTG1), also known as Securin, is considered an oncogene. This study aimed to investigate the role of PTTG1 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) using in silico bioinformatics approaches. A pan-cancer analysis using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data indicated that among all cancer types copy number amplification of PTTG1 gene was most frequently found in ccRCC. However, amplification of PTTG1 gene copy number did not correlate with the increase of mRNA level in ccRCC, and did not predict the patients' overall survival. Instead, ccRCC was correlated with overexpression of PTTG1 mRNA, and its expression level was stage-dependent increased in cancer patients. An outlier analysis using the Oncomine database suggested that PTTG1 mRNA expression served as a good biomarker for ccRCC. Pathway analysis for upregulated genes enriched in PTTG1-high expressing ccRCC patients found that PTTG1 overexpression was associated with mitotic defects. Mining drug sensitivity data using the Cancer Therapeutics Response Portal (CTRP) discovered that PTTG1-high expressing ccRCC cell lines were susceptible to a Rac1 (Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1) inhibitor NSC23766. Therefore, this study provides an in silico insight into the role of PTTG1 in ccRCC, and repurposes the Rac1 inhibitor NSC23766 for treating PTTG1-high expressing ccRCC.     

Proteases and their inhibitors as prognostic factors for high-grade serous ovarian cancer

Ovarian carcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies, but only very few prognostic biomarkers are known. The degradome, comprising proteases, protease non-proteolytic homologues and inhibitors, have been involved in the prognosis of many cancer types, including ovarian carcinoma. The prognostic significance of the whole degradome family has not been specifically studied in high-grade serous ovarian cancer. A targeted DNA microarray known as the CLIP-CHIP microarray was used to identify potential prognostic factors in ten high-grade serous ovarian cancer women who had early recurrence (<1.6 years) or late/no recurrence after first line surgery and chemotherapy. In women with early recurrence, we identified seven upregulated genes (TMPRSS4, MASP1/3, SPC18, PSMB1, IGFBP2, CFI – encoding Complement Factor I – and MMP9) and one down-regulated gene (ADAM-10). Using immunohistochemistry, we evaluated the prognostic effect of these 8 candidate genes in an independent cohort of 112 high-grade serous ovarian cancer women. Outcomes were progression, defined according to CA-125 criteria, and death. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression models were done to estimate the associations between each protein and each outcome. High ADAM-10 expression (intensity of 2–3) was associated with a lower risk of progression (adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29-0.87). High complement factor I expression (intensity 2–3) was associated with a higher risk of progression (adjusted HR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.17–4.53) and death (adjusted HR: 3.42; 95% CI: 1.72–6.79). Overall, we identified the prognostic value of two proteases, ADAM-10 and complement factor I, for high-grade serous ovarian cancer which could have clinical significance.     

MicroRNA-301b-3p accelerates the growth of gastric cancer cells by targeting zinc finger and BTB domain containing 4

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to be aberrantly expressed and exert essential roles in the tumorigenesis and progression of gastric cancer (GC). miR-301b-3p has been recognized as a cancer-related miRNA in lung cancer, bladder cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the function of miR-301b-3p in GC progression and its underlying mechanism have not been studied yet. In this study, we found that miR-301b-3p expression was up-regulated in GC tissues compared to adjacent noncancerous tissues. Furthermore, the elevated levels of miR-301b-3p were detected in GC cell lines (SGC-7901, AGS, MKN-45 and MGC-803) as compared with GES-1 cells. Interestingly, GC tissues from patients with tumor size ≥ 5 cm and advanced tumor stages showed obvious higher levels of miR-301b-3p compared to matched controls. Functionally, miR-301b-3p knockdown prominently inhibited cell proliferation, and induced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase and apoptosis in MGC-803 cells. Meanwhile, ectopic expression of miR-301b-3p conversely regulated these biological behaviors of MKN-45 cells. Next, we found that miR-301b-3p knockdown increased, whereas miR-301b-3p overexpression reduced the expression of zinc finger and BTB domain containing 4 (ZBTB4) in GC cells. Accordingly, luciferase reporter assay identified ZBTB4 as a direct target of miR-301b-3p. ZBTB4 overexpression markedly restrained the growth of MGC-803 cells. More importantly, ZBTB4 silencing partially reversed miR-301b-3p knockdown-induced tumor suppressive effects on MGC-803 cells. In conclusion, we firstly revealed that miR-301-3p was highly expressed in GC and contributed to tumor progression via attenuating ZBTB4, which might provide a novel molecular-targeted strategy for GC treatment.     

Identification of IgG1 Aggregation Initiation Region by Hydrogen Deuterium Mass Spectrometry

Antibody aggregates are a potential risk for immunogenicity; therefore, rational approaches to improve associated aggregation properties need to be developed. Here, we report the amino acid region responsible for aggregation initiation. Two types of therapeutic IgG1 antibody monomer samples were prepared: IgG1 mAb40-3M stored at 40°C for 3 months, which existed in monodisperse state, and the monomer mAb65-5m, which was dissociated from small soluble aggregates by heating at 65°C for 5 min. Hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry of mAb40-3M identified 2 sites in the Fc region (site 1, F239-M256; site 2, S428-G450) with increased exchange rates. Site 1 includes a region reported as being susceptible to structural change induced by stress. Exposure of site 1 was undetected after 2 months of storage at 40°C but was subsequently detectable after 3 months. As site 2 is spatially close to site 1, the structural change of site 1 could propagate site 2. Besides these 2 regions, hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry of mAb65-5m identified an exposure of I257-W281 in Fc (site 3), within which a peptide sequence with high aggregation tendency was discovered. We thus concluded that exposure of site 3 is a trigger for the association of a partially denatured antibody.     

Prothymosin‐α enhances phosphatase and tensin homolog expression and binds with tripartite motif‐containing protein 21 to regulate Kelch‐like ECH‐associated protein 1/nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 signaling in human bladder cancer

Prothymosin‐α (PTMA) is a small, acidic protein that is usually transported into the nucleus and involves many cellular and immunological functions. Previous studies demonstrated that aberrant location of PTMA expression exists in human bladder cancer, but the role of PTMA protein expression remains elusive. In this study, we created ectopic nuclear or cytoplasmic PTMA expression in human bladder cancer cells by infecting lentiviruses carrying wild type or deleted nuclear localization signal of the PTMA gene. The in vivo tumorigenesis assay showed PTMA protein with deleted nuclear localization signal promotes J82 xenograft tumor growth in mice and shortens their survival more so than the wild type. Chromatin immunoprecipitation showed that wild‐type PTMA protein binds to the PTEN promoter and enhances phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) expression. Through immunoblot proteomics and in vivo ubiquitination studies, PTMA protein can bind with tripartite motif‐containing protein 21 (TRIM21) and block its ubiquitination. Also, TRIM21 can downregulate both forms of PTMA protein. In human bladder tumors, loss of nuclear PTMA expression was an unfavorable prognostic indicator for shorter disease‐free survival (hazard ratio, 1.54; P = 0.009). Our data support that nuclear PTMA protein serves as a tumor suppressor in bladder cancer through upregulating PTEN and orchestrating TRIM21 for the regulation of Nrf2 signaling.     

蜘蛛香环烯醚萜部位干预CUMS致抑郁小鼠脑组织的1H-NMR代谢组学分析

目的:利用代谢组学技术分析慢性温和不可预知应激(CUMS)抑郁模型小鼠脑组织样本,寻找与抑郁相关的差异代谢物,探讨蜘蛛香环烯醚萜部位(IEFV)可能的抗抑郁作用机制。方法:42只昆明小鼠随机分为6组,包括正常组,模型组,氟西汀组(2.5 mg·kg-1),IEFV低、中、高剂量组(给药剂量分别为5.73,11.47,22.94 mg·kg-1)。采用CUMS对小鼠造模,以IEFV及阳性药(氟西汀)为干预药物,用行为指标和生化指标进行药效学评价。采用核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)代谢组学技术分析IEFV对CUMS抑郁模型小鼠脑组织中内源性物质的影响,结合多变量统计分析方法来确认差异代谢物,并对差异代谢物参与的代谢通路进行富集。结果:造模后,小鼠的不动时间大幅度提高、蔗糖偏好率明显下降,兴奋性神经递质5-羟色胺和去甲肾上腺素显著下降,表明造模成功。给予IEFV和氟西汀后,小鼠不动时间、蔗糖偏好率和兴奋性神经递质向正常水平回调,提示给药后抑郁状态得到了一定程度的缓解。脑组织中内源性代谢物主成分分析(PCA)结果显示,模型组可与正常组明显分开,同时IEFV低、中、高剂量组和氟西汀组均显示有偏离模型组向正常组靠拢的趋势,与行为学结果一致。模型组与正常组进行正交偏最小二乘法-判别分析(OPLS-DA)得到了16个变化显著的差异代谢物,包括12个水溶性差异代谢物和4个脂溶性差异代谢物。通过MetPA数据库分析得到7条潜在靶标代谢通路,包括三羧酸循环(TCA),牛磺酸和亚牛磺酸的代谢,丙氨酸、天冬氨酸和谷氨酸代谢等。IEFV高剂量组可显著回调11种差异代谢物。结论:IEFV可能主要通过影响能量代谢,氨基酸代谢和神经递质水平发挥抗抑郁作用,可为IEFV抗抑郁作用机制的深入研究提供参考依据。     

截断逆挽方含药血清对D-氨基半乳糖诱导的人正常肝细胞LO2细胞增殖影响

目的研究截断逆挽方含药血清通过调控E2F1介导的细胞增殖途径减轻D-氨基半乳糖(D-Galactosamine,D-GlaN)诱导的人正常肝细胞LO2的损伤。方法体外培养LO2细胞,以D-GlaN进行造模,将细胞分为正常组、模型组、2.5%截断逆挽方含药血清组(2.5%JDNWF)、5%截断逆挽方含药血清组(5%JDNWF)、10%截断逆挽方含药血清组(10%JDNWF)。采用Cell Counting Kit-8(CCK8)法检测细胞活力;Real-time PCR检测转录因子E2F1、细胞周期蛋白E(cyclin E)、细胞周期蛋白A(cyclin A)、细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶2(cyclin-dependent kinase 2,CDK2)、细胞分裂周期因子25A(cell division cyclin 25A,CDC25A)mRNA的表达;流式细胞术检测细胞周期;Western Blot检测分化调控因子DP1蛋白表达。结果截断逆挽方含药血清能显著促进LO2细胞进入S期(P<0.01),上调E2F1、cyclin E、cyclin A、CDK2、CDC25A mRNA的表达(P<0.01),并且能增加DP1蛋白的表达(P<0.05,P<0.01)。结论截断逆挽方减轻肝细胞损伤的作用机制可能与其促进肝细胞增殖有关。